The Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan says she was not aware of any private meeting between her predecessor and Deputy John McGuinness.

Her statement comes after the Fianna Fáil TD, a former chair of the Public Accounts Committee, claimed that Martin Callinan had told him that whistleblower Maurice McCabe was "not to be trusted".

In the Dáil last week, McGuinness said he was asked by Martin Callinan to meet him in a Dublin car park in 2014 - around the time McCabe attended a hearing at the PAC.

Nóirín O'Sullivan has faced calls to say if she knew about the meeting, and a statement from gardaí this evening said she did not.

"Commissioner O’Sullivan was not aware of any private meeting between former Commissioner Callinan and Deputy McGuinness as outlined by Deputy McGuinness in the Dáil," the force said. 

"In relation to whistleblowers, Commissioner O’Sullivan has consistently stated that dissent is not disloyalty and as a service we are determined to learn from our experiences.

"An Garda Síochána agrees that whistleblowers are part of the solution to the problems facing the service.

"The Commissioner has recently appointed a Protected Disclosures Manager and an appropriately trained dedicated team will be established to oversee all matters related to whistleblowers.

"Transparency Ireland has agreed to work with An Garda Síochána to help ensure protected disclosures and people making them are welcomed and protected in An Garda Síochána."